15 minute read
RESTORED Mk1 TRAVELLER
THE A TEAM
Restoring the family Mini is much easier when one of you is a mechanic but, if the other is a paint sprayer, really good things happen.
Words: Karen Drury. Photos: Jim Jupp
During the COVID lockdowns many people used their time at home very creatively. For instance, as folks couldn’t go out for a drink, there was a craze of building home bars. Long-term Mini enthusiasts Verena and David Pugh already had one. “Around five years ago we built a garden pub,” says Dave. “We’ve got Sky Sports TV in there. It was our saviour during lockdown. It’s only little room, fitting eight people max, and there are a lot of Mini photos and memorabilia in there. It was a great little place when you couldn’t go anywhere or have anyone over.”
Most people would have enjoyed spending a lot of time in such a place but this couple was determined to spend the time getting their Woody finished and back on the road after over 30 years of retirement. “We made a point of not going in there all the time, only on Saturdays and when watching the Formula One on a Sunday,” explains Dave.
This garden pub was the perfect lockdown lair but there was a Mini project to be completed!
They have both worked in the motor trade for decades. Verena is a paint sprayer by trade and Dave is a mechanic. They met when working at a Volkswagen dealership. “David was a supervisor,” recalls Verena. “I was just a young thing, walking through his office every morning, and we got together about a year later.”
They have a history of many years of Mini ownership and own two more that you will read about in future issues of MiniWorld. They fancied a Mk1 Mini for Verena as the others are mainly used by Dave. They have everything covered when it comes to Mini maintenance and restoration. “I do dents in the paintwork and spraying and Dave does the welding and mechanics,” explains Verena.
In September 2019 they bought their 1964 Morris Mini Traveller as an almost finished project. “A friend of ours had it,” explains Verena. “We were chatting and I said that I had always wanted an early Mini with the big steering wheel and the starter button on the floor. We didn’t know he had one as he’s got quite a few Minis. We went to have a look and did the deal and brought it home.”
Dave continues the story: “I didn’t hear it running when we bought it. The guy said it would run but hadn’t been used for 30-plus years. Initially I put a battery on it, made sure it had a spark, poured some petrol in a jug, poured it in the carburettor and it started and ran, which was pretty alright.”
The Old English White Traveller had originally been red but their friend had »
The build
The previous owner hadn't sourced the wood trim and painted the roof red. David methodically recommissioned the Mini's engine and running gear.
Verena stripped back any panel imperfections and any small dents were filled ready for paint. Once COVID restrictions allowed, the Mini was taken to the bodyshop, where Verena worked, so that the bodyshell (including the roof), could be resprayed again in Old English White (WT3] two-pack.
There was a tear in the stitching on one of the seats which was carefully, and cleverly, repaired.
The wood trim required staining and protecting and caulk strips provided weather protection. Fitting the wood was a slow and fiddly process but they persevered and it now fits perfectly. A plush new blue carpet adds to the overall impressive look of the whole Traveller project.
Matching overmats mean that the Mini can be used for trips out without spoiling the interior. The large original steering wheel provides Verena with the Mk1 Mini magic she craved.
changed it to white, with a red roof. They decided to keep it white, with a white roof, so that the project didn’t get out of hand. “All the bodywork had been done. He had painted it white so we kept it white, although I did paint it again,” says Verena. “We started work on it during the first lockdown.”
Dave set about recommissioning the Woody, as he explains: “I checked and lubricated everything. The petrol tank wasn’t in it at the time and we did other work to it first: suspension, brakes and all that. By the time we got some petrol in and got it running it was getting very, very hot and the water wasn’t circulating. I took the radiator out and it was all full of crud in the bottom. I took the water pump off and it was absolutely blocked solid with rust half way across. So then I took the cylinder head off and I cleaned out the cooling system as best I could. I cleaned out the radiator, fitted a new pump and put the radiator back in and
added some strong cooling system cleaner and flushed it through twice and it’s been alright since. I did the valves and everything while I was at it although I didn’t fit unleaded valve seats as it was an unknown quantity at that point as I hadn’t even driven it and I didn’t know what the gearbox was like or anything. I did the minimum but, while it was out, I painted it all and made it look tidy and it doesn’t drive too bad. The gears aren’t too bad but the timing chain rattles a bit.” Electronic ignition was fitted. “We had to put a new dynamo on it,” recalls Verena.
Despite Dave’s vast experience with Mini mechanicals, things don’t always go to plan: “I wanted to get the distributor out so I could paint the block. I stripped all the bits off and I couldn’t move it – it was seized. I was trying to twist it and it broke so I bought an electronic distributor and a coil and a set of HT leads to go with it. It starts on the button although the starter motor is a bit sluggish.”
The wood was ordered from specialist company Woodies (www. morriswoodwork.co.uk). “We ordered the wood kit from Woodies and there was a five-month waiting list.” While waiting for that they got the rest of the Mini ready. “I rubbed it down in places and painted it all at work. It was pretty good so the bodywork for me was really quite simple,” recalls Verena. Dave adds: “It had whacking great big door mirrors so we took them off and I just put a little overtaking mirror on the A-pillar when it went back on the road.” Verena spent a lot of time working on the interior as they were keen to keep the original trim if it could be cleaned up enough. “The interior was very old and grubby so we took it all out and scrubbed it,” she recalls. “The passenger seat had a rip in it so we had a new seat cover made but it was the wrong colour and didn’t match. I went to a local upholsterer and they said they couldn’t do anything so, in the end, I repaired it with Wundaweb underneath. I just put a
OWNER PROFILE
Verena Pugh
Occupation: I was one of the first female paint sprayers. I got the apprenticeship before I sat my exams at school. I was on the shop floor painting until 2001 and I had some knee surgery which took me off for a while so I was the workshop controller until last year. I won Vauxhall Paint Sprayer of the Year in 2000, which is a national competition. I was made redundant last year and now work in a care home, which is very rewarding work.
towel on the seat when I drive it. It has its patina still and it’s had a good scrub up. I didn’t want an all-new interior if I could help it although the carpet is new, which was an online purchase.”
It’s important to the couple that any upgrades are of the correct era for the car’s age. “We bought Britaxtype seatbelts as our friend had fitted inertia ones which I didn’t want as I just wanted it to look 1964-ish.” One interior change is almost undetectable: “Even though it’s got the original pushwasher button, Dave changed it to an electric pump so there’s a switch to flick for the washers but we’ve still got the button to look authentic,” she explains.
The brakes had already been upgraded to Cooper S front disc brakes and spacer drums at the rear before they bought the Mini. They kept this configuration for safety on modern roads but the braking system needed overhauling, as Dave explains: “The discs were all rusty so I bought new discs, new pads as they had seized in the calipers, plus the suspension bushes on the front. I fitted a Cooper S brake master cylinder. It had a clutch master cylinder on it which wasn’t right so I bought a new clutch master cylinder too and it needed new brake shoes on the rear. The standard wheels fit on just inside the arches. It has much better brakes than an 850, even without a servo. Once you have used it once or twice they work very nicely.”
The wood trim is such an important part of the Traveller and Countryman’s overall look so they were pleased when it arrived from Woodies in September
2020. “I’d never fitted a wood kit,” explains Dave, “and I hadn’t taken the original one off so I had no idea how it would fit. It wasn’t bad as we did it together. Verena’s got smaller hands so she was able to start off the awkward screws down the bottom. We treated it with two coats of Sikkens HLS Plus, in Light Oak, applied wet on wet then, after drying, two coats of Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 Plus in Light Oak, which gives a satin, micro-porous finish.” This process was recommended by Tim Foreman of Woodies. “We assembled the sides and offered them up to the car and we thought ‘well, that’s not too bad’. I put a screw in each side and we made sure the wood was hanging in the right position. We sealed the wood, when fitting, with Eastwood Flexible Strip Caulk. by then it was November 2020 so the weather was changing.” By the summer of 2021 they were able to enjoy driving the Woody to Mini shows.
Dave saw the Woody’s engine as a bit of a stop-gap for last year’s shows and is currently building another 850 for it. “I have stripped it down and made a list of parts like new pistons and bearings. The crankshaft needs a regrind and I want to get the head done for unleaded fuel plus all the other bits and pieces you need for a rebuild. It's on stop at the moment, due to being too cold and damp to work on it, so I will resume when the weather is warmer and, hopefully, install it on a nice summer weekend. It won’t be cheap but, If it was my car, I’d have a 1275 engine in there just to make it more useable, as it’s a handy car for carrying stuff, but Verena wants to keep it as it was.”
Verena’s plans for the Traveller are clear. “I want to enjoy driving it and it’s kind of a pension pot as well. They are going up in value, and we do keep our Minis a very long time.” Let’s hope they get to spend a bit more time in their garden pub now too.
